Classic

An easy classic from John Lennon on the "Old Grey Whistle Test." Stand By Me.

2fer

Butthole Surfers, what a name. Pepper is the first song of the day because it is FUCKING SWEET. Off of 1996's Electriclarryland, Gibby Haynes surges the song along with his balanced use of rhymes and the lull in his voice. It swirls along and seeps into your brain comfortably. And that psychedelic/heavy metal guitar wa-wa thing- glorious.

Second, we have White Zombie's Ratfinks, Suicide Tanks and Cannibal Girls. It's a gnarly thrash-a-roony, so dance around the room when you play this one and rip your shirt off. Below is a low quality sound version of the song, but high quality entertainment.

BoC

More electronic ambient, but some of the best...that may or may not have already appeared on this blog. But multiple appearances are a good sign if you ask me. Boards of Canada are the boys and they hail from Edinburgh, Scotland. They're also brothers (Mike Sandison & Marcus Eoin). This whole stellar album is called Music Has the Right to Children. If you don't know em, you should. The song- Nlogax. May your days be merry and bright. 

Happy Thanksgiving

Now I know we've only just finished Thanksgiving, but this song is synonymous with the holidays in my ears. The classic jazz number by Vince Guaraldi (and his trio) is featured in the Peanuts Christmas special. The song is Linus & Lucy & below is a clip from the movie. I especially love Snoopy on guitar.

Herro

Today's song of the day is New Theory by Washed Out (one man show by a guy named Ernest Greene). It's blurry, well-beated synthpop which equals joy in this heart of mine. Tell me what you think. As for yesterday, yesterday already sang. 

Skillz

Out of the woods of Brazil, I can now get back to indulging myself. Hmm, what today, what today? Hows about some Daedelus for an afternoon pick-me-up? Splendid choice, Erin! So, Denies the Day's Demise (2006) is the standout album of this Santa Monica native and the song from it is Bahia (and as it turns out, this song samples Brazilian music [but Brazil wasn't as well suited for parenthetical repartee]). Don't be a chump, turn it up!

Funk Carioca / Rap

Now, I'm not a big rap fan, but rap is quite popular in Brazil now, so I suppose I'll expose myself. RACIONAIS MC's are a group of four guys (with pretty funny names for themselves {Mano Brown, Ice Blue, Edy Rock & DJ KL Jay}) hailing from the favelas (slums) of São Paulo. (I had to copy and paste cuz i like the tilde over the a; now my font is probably fucked up). Guess what they rap about? Gangster lifestyles and social injustices. Anyway, the guy has a pretty nice voice and this probably isn't their best song example because the beat is sort of weak, but I like it because the lyrics are translated. That makes it, well, interesting. So long, Brazil, or should I say, Tchau (ciao).

Claudio Franco de Sá Santoro

Claudio Santoro was a great violinist and composer born in 1919. His compositions generally feature beautiful string arrangements, as the violin was his love. Here is a shining example: Ponteio. He co-founded the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra and he died, like a true musician, conducting them at a concert rehearsal in 1989.

Brazil Welcomes the 21st Century

And I happily welcome electronic dance grooves from Electro Côco. They remain Brazilian through and through with the groovy wave of their music and gorgeous harmonies; but they synthed out! That and they have an English DJ mixing their songs. Se Eu Fosse Mais Do Que Posso is thee song. I think it means The Fozzie Bear posse is in my dormatory.

Brazilian Beatles

Os Mutantes - Brazil's super group. They collaborated with Gilberto Gil from time to time, but more importantly they stand on their own 6 legs with vibrant, poppy music. Here is the song of the day: A Minha Menina. Eat it up.

O Acordo Real

Just when I was beginning to think all Brazilian music sounds the same, Caetano Veloso comes along and zings me! Sure, I'm green with this Brazilian stuff, but isn't it all a little too easy to listen to? This song - Tropicália - enters the realm of the psychedelic. Young Caetano, you wooed me. O acordo real. the real deal.

JOBIM

Bossa Nova, the blend of jazz and samba, is where Mr. ANTONIO CARLOS JOBIM found his niche in Brazil. If you've heard The Girl from Ipanema, you've already heard of Mr. Jobim. He has a sultry, velvety voice and he is world-renowned as a jazz standard. Grammy winner, composer, Brazilian-extraordinaire, I give you one of his classics- Para Machucar Meu Coração (performed by Joao Gilberto / Stan Getz).

República Federativa do Brasil

Brazil, not just an eccentric Terry Gilliam movie, but a whole country below the equator! Who knew!? Well, I've obviously been doing my research and in Brazil they speak Portuguese, which is called by many linguists the most beautiful language in the world. SO, you listeners are in for a treat, because this is my musical exploration week of B R A Z I L. I have to use my go-to man for an introduction: Gilberto Gil. The song sounds beautiful as you can imagine and it is called Ele Falava Nisso Todo Dia. It was ecorded in 1968 and it's lively as ever. Gil was a leading artist in the Tropicalia or Tropicalismo movement that transformed his country. He was a bossa nova musician with a James Brown soul and a lust for Jimi Hendrix's guitar. I suggest you give him more than this one listen because he's a buoyant and refined artist (with strong political involvement) that continues to ignite interest.

Pumpkins

You know what's better than plain old pumpkins? Smashing Pumpkins. Both the physical act and the musical act. Hailing from the Windy City, this group holds a special place in my heart. When they were good, they were fucking good. Now, Billy Corgan may or may not have become a flaming bag of poop. Are the rumors true? I don't know. Since I missed yesterday, here are two of my favs- Thirty Three from Melon Collie and the Infinite Sadness and Rhinoceros from Gish. It's autumn. I'm wearing pumpkin-colored bell bottoms. And now I am off to drink hearty amounts of wine.

BRAINTICKET

Wow. I just discovered Brainticket. Places of Light comes from their debut album Cottonwoodhill. I didn't think it could be done, but so be it, it is trippier than anything I have ever heard. How unreal is that album cover? I'm loving every bit of this, except the parts where it bends the universe. Oh wait, that's like, most of it. But this song is equal parts funk and good acid. If you want a doozy, listen to the last 3 tracks, all of which are available to hear only on youtube. The album was released in 1971 and their next album Celestial Ocean in 74. That has some sweet space-rock-meets-ancient-Egypt tracks on it. Whether you're into this or not, you gotta give these guys (and girl) points for creativity. These folks love their spastic elastic space rock.

Mad About Peyroux

Helluva catchy title, huh? huh?? Like that deLIGHTful 90's sitcom with Paul Reiser. I mean, it was impossible not to use. Now let's get to it. Madeleine Peyroux is a soulful Billie-esque jazz singer. She's absolutely wonderful. Hard to choose a song, so many are good. I'll go with Blue Alert.

Bristol's finest

I went for a run earlier and let my iPod do its thing on shuffle when The Rip by Portishead came on. I loved it the first time I heard it and every time since. Terrific build to the song off their most recent album Third. Anywhoooo, have a listen. I guarantee you'll love it too or you get your money back, no questions asked.

S.M.B., Pt. 2 (sweet music bombardment)

Furcast is a local-ish band from Carson, CA.  They have some interesting techniques and they experiment with electronics without straying too far from a groovy base. At first, the song Gray is Old sounds like a good Portishead impression, but about 4 minutes in they take you for a whole new ride. Peruse their myspace and make sure you also listen to the song Love Demo Loop Review, in case you're not already impressed.

Sweet Music Bombardment

I just came across 3 super rad bands at once. Hard to pick a song of the day when that happens. Alas, I must choose. Here is the weird & shiny video for the song Open Your Heart by Celebration. They are from Baltimore like Beach House who is plugging them. Now I'm plugging them. Lucky them! Here is their cool website.

Richard D. James

Video below is thee song of thee day. The actual song starts about 4:20 into the video, but the prelude is worth watching. Aphex Twin. Windowlicker. Need I say more? I needn't. 

Suzy? Suzy Cream Cheese?

Hello world. This is your conscience speaking. You should really sit through this psychedelic 12 minute long mess. It's called The Return Of The Son Of Monster Magnet by Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention. Sadly the only place it is available online is on youtube, in 2 parts. Make sure you listen to the whole thing. Zappa dee do da. 

The Devil and This Guy

Daniel Johnston is an anomaly. I really don't know what else to say about him other than that and he ranges from "spotty to brilliant" as one critic said. That seems about right. Watch the video and then listen to the song of the day- Some Things Last A Long Time (Beach House did a lovely cover on their latest album). Compare and contrast in 50 words or less.